


We'll always make it

by Xinjay



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Post 312
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-13
Updated: 2013-02-07
Packaged: 2017-11-18 13:51:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/561759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xinjay/pseuds/Xinjay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He would admire Gwaine every time he pulled that tricky move where he flipped the sword out of his opponents hand and into his own. He would cheer when Percival completely overpowered his opponent and force them down in record time. He would watch Elyan’s sheer persistence and perseverance land him victory in sparring matches. He would feel a great swell of pride whenever he saw Lancelot spar with a big grin on his face because after so many years, he was finally a knight.</p><p>Studying Merlin's relationship with each knight through a series of events.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Leon

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote the first chapter and half of the second chapter a little over a year and half ago. I decided I'm going to finish it because I've always wanted to write a fic about Merlin's relationship with the knights. Anyways, Enjoy. ♥

Merlin always stood by the sidelines and watched the knights practice, but it was usually only because he needed to be their incase Arthur needed him. He used to find it boring, and would sit around staring into space while idly polishing Arthurs’ extra sword. Now, after seeing what the new knights had gone through to earn their titles, he would get engrossed in watching them train.

He would admire Gwaine every time he pulled that tricky move where he flipped the sword out of his opponents’ hand and into his own. He would cheer when Percival completely overpowered his opponent and force them down in record time. He would watch Elyan’s sheer persistence and perseverance land him victory in sparring matches. He would feel a great swell of pride whenever he saw Lancelot spar with a big grin on his face because after so many years, he was _finally_ a knight.

The dark-haired servant couldn’t stop the big grin from forming on his own face at the thoughts. He was just so proud. They were all noble knights, like they should be. They were all there for Arthur when he needed them most, and for Camelot in its darkest hour. He couldn’t think of anyone more deserving.

He looked over at the man who had given them all the privilege. Arthur was currently sparring with Sir Leon; they were both eyeing each other up to decide where to strike. They usually didn’t fight each other, since they were both leaders of squads, and usually divided the knights up and trained them separately. Though it was one of those rare occasions where Arthur let the knights train however they wanted to, and today everyone had chosen to spar.

King Uther wasn’t exactly fully recovered yet, so Arthur has been doing a lot more around the castle. In turn, Sir Leon had been the one to take over training the knights more often. Nothing he couldn’t handle. The man was practically immortal. He’d been here even before Merlin had, and he’d fought griffins and gargoyles and dragons and immortal men and still lived to tell the tale. Merlin would definitely say he was fit for the job.

Though of course, Merlin thought as he saw Arthur move in for a quick attack, even the most skilled knights probably didn’t stand a chance against Arthur. He watched Arthur’s blade meet Leon’s a few times before Arthur jabbed at Leon’s thighs, expecting him to parry. Leon was just a little too late and the blade cut his thigh.

“…sorry… thought you would parry that… think you should work on…”

As Merlin ran over (he _was_ a physicians apprentice, after all) he could hear Arthur managing to apologize and tell him to work on his parrying at the same time. Merlin rolled his eyes at Arthurs rambling. He had a little too much faith in his knights sometimes (though that wasn’t a bad thing). Was a simple, ‘ _Oops, sorry. You okay?_ ’ too much to ask for?

“Sir Leon! Are you okay?” The young warlock hurried over to where the curly-haired knight was clutching his thigh. The knight nodded, but Merlin bent down anyways to get a look.

“It doesn’t look too bad, but we should still get it cleaned. I’ll bring you to Gaius.” Merlin stood back up on his feet and looked up at Leon. He was shaking his head.

“No no, it’s just a cut. I can continue with practice, and go see him afterwards.” Leon turned to walk away, but Merlin grabbed his arm and slung it around his shoulders. He turned the tall man back around and started heading towards the physicians quarters.

“No, I don’t think so. You’re coming with me to get that cleaned.” Leon gave him an annoyed yet amused look, but started walking with him nonetheless. Merlin could tell the cut must hurt, for he was favouring his right leg.

“If you were any other servant, the King would have you flogged for an attitude like that towards a knight,” Leon joked as they head for the physician’s quarters. Merlin should have brought some stuff with him, now that he thought back to it. They were all skilled knights though, and he didn’t think he’d need to, but he supposed he forgot that sometimes precautions were necessary.

“You wouldn’t do that,” Merlin grinned, “but I’m sorry I have to take you all the way to Gaius. I didn’t think I’d need bandages, and...”

“It’s alright Merlin. I’m a knight. If I can run for miles through forests on perilous journeys, I can walk across the castle.” They both laughed, and Merlin decided to quit with his worrying. Leon was a good strong man.

They talked the whole way to Gaius, about everything and nothing. They never really talked often before, but they were always together, since Leon was basically Arthur’s right-hand man and Merlin was his servant. The young warlock figured out a few things about Leon, like his sense of humour and his liking to telling funny or embarrassing stories.

“Merlin. Sir Leon.” Gaius greeted them as they walked through the door. Merlin saw the man’s eyes travel from Leon’s arm around his shoulder, to the leaning of his weight onto Merlin, down to the cut of his leg. That’s what he liked about Gaius. Never asked any unnecessary questions, unless he was trying to prove a point.

“Well, have a seat. I’ll take a look at it. Thanks for bringing him, Merlin.” Merlin helped Leon onto the bench before nodded to Gaius. He looked back at Leon, and before he could say anything, the man cut in.

“Yes Merlin, I’ll be fine. Go back to Arthur now, he’ll need someone to beat around.” The knight grinned at him and patted him on the arm like he was a small kid. Sometimes Merlin wondered if that’s how Leon saw him, but even if it was, he was fine with it. After all, he was a servant, yet he treated him like an equal. At first he was a bit distant from him, but with time they learnt to trust each other. So Merlin didn’t mind; Leon was starting to feel more and more like an older brother to him.

“Alright. See you later then.” Merlin flashed him a toothy grin, waved, and head out.


	2. Lancelot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd just like to say that I don't have a beta, and I've never had a beta so any mistakes are my own. Enjoy!

Leon was back up and running the next day. The King asked Arthur if he could take a few knights and go hunting. They would need more food provisions for the castle, so the prince took along all of the new knights. They were the knights he trusted most, so he tended to favour them over others.

Leon, Gwaine, Lancelot, Elyan, and Percival all rode behind Arthur and Merlin. Servants weren’t really supposed to be right up front with the Prince, but after a while everyone just started seeing it as something normal. Everyone knew that Merlin was kind and loyal, so no one questioned or opposed it.

The group of knights stopped a while later when they were well into the forest, where they found a good place to leave their horses. They dismounted and tied their steeds loosely to branches and trees.

It was a slightly dark and gloomy day, but at least it wasn’t raining. There was a thin layer of mist in the air, and the ground was very wet. If they wanted to start a fire later they’d have to look longer for extra wood, or cut some dry wood out of a trunk.

“Alright. We should all split up into twos. Merlin, you should stay here and watch the horses. You can get the meat ready for the ride home when we bring it back.”

“If you do.”

“Merlin, don’t doubt the skills of a knight. Plus I’ll get a lot more done if you’re not there. Scaring off the animals half the time…” Merlin pulled a face at Arthur’s comment, but didn’t deny it. He did have a tendency of tripping over nothing and stepping on particularly crunchy leaves.

“Alright then. Leon, go with Percival. Lancelot, with Gwaine. Elyan, come with me.” The knights nodded and head off in separate directions. Merlin sighed and took a seat on a log. Well, this would be fun. He looked around at the quiet forest around him. Sometimes he could hear water dripping down from leaves, or the flutter of wings from a bird in the trees. In the distance, through the trees, he could see the faint outline of bushes through the mist.

Merlin suddenly noticed something. He couldn’t see any of the knights retreating forms. He looked around, but all he could see was thick mist through the trees. Where was it even coming from? They weren’t near any water sources, and come to think of it, Gaius had said it’s only supposed to be slightly wet today, not foggy at all…

The servant jumped onto his feet. Could this be sorcery? He looked around cautiously. The mist was closing in on him, and soon it would probably cover the whole area. As the fog grew thicker he found himself panicking a little, and whirling around in his spot, trying to see through the thick fog. He had to go find Arthur, and the knights…!

“Arthur?” Merlin called out, taking cautious steps forward. The sound of wet leaves crushing beneath his feet was reassuring when he couldn’t see clearly, but it seemed like the only sound that he could hear. He could not hear the wind rustling through the trees anymore, or the sounds of birds or the soft footsteps of woodland critters.

“Elyan? Leon?” Merlin called out again when he got no response, and he kept walking forward, wondering if it was even a good idea to have moved from his spot. What if he got impossibly lost and wouldn’t be able to find the others, or his way home.

He shook his head, backing up a little bit. That was ridiculous. He was a powerful warlock, and there wasn’t even a guarantee that this mist was conjured from sorcery. But then again, it did seem to get unnaturally thick in a short amount of time, and he just had a feeling…

He almost yelled when he backed up into something, and whirled around only to see Lancelot. He breathed out a sigh of relief, watching as Lancelot did the same.

“Merlin, I’m glad I found you. This fog…” Lancelot started, to which Merlin nodded.

“Yeah, it’s unnatural. I think it’s magic,” Merlin replied, lowering his voice as he said it was magic, because who knew who could be listening in on their conversation. He saw Lancelot gulp and nod, looking at him determinedly.

“So, can’t you… do something about it? I don’t think we’ll be able to find the others unless we literally stumble into them. I called out for you all and tried to listen for responses but it’s as if my yells fell upon deaf ears,” Lancelot said, and Merlin nodded. Merlin had also just called out for Elyan and Leon, and right after he had stumbled into Lancelot, but shouldn’t Lancelot have heard him call out? Instead the knight was just as surprised to find Merlin as he was.

“I can try clearing the area,” Merlin said, though it sounded more of a question, and Lancelot agreed, raising an eyebrow at the way Merlin had said it as if he needed to ask permission. Merlin just wasn’t used to using magic around people, even around Lancelot.

The warlock raised his hands in front of him and began to speak the familiar words of the old religion.

“ _Ic her aciege ænne windræs! Færblæd wawe! Windræs ungetermed: gehiere!”_

A strong gust of wind picked up suddenly, circling below his outstretched hands for a moment before spreading out through the forest like it was simply brushing over an open field. The fog cleared away and he lowered his hand, just incase anyone else was around to have seen that.

As soon as the fog was cleared away, the sounds of the forest seemed to return to them, and he could hear swords clashing with swords in the distance. Lancelot seemed to hear them suddenly as well, and they both turned around and rushed in that direction.

They got to a clearing where a group of bandits were surrounding Arthur and Elyan, swords drawn and clashing against each other as the two protected themselves. Lancelot instantly jumped in to help, and Merlin heard a shout from behind him to see that Leon, Gwaine and Percival had also managed to find their way over to them now that the fog had cleared.

The knights managed to defeat most of the bandits, and the rest had run off, apparently no match for the knights now that they were together again.

“What on earth was that?” Gwaine said, the first one to break the silence after their victory.

“It was as if all the sounds in the forest stopped,” Leon elaborated, and the other knights nodded.

“We were thinking it was the fog, and maybe it was magic,” Lancelot offered, sharing a look with Merlin, who agreed.

“To separate us maybe, to get to Arthur,” Elyan concluded.

“That was creepy. I hope I never have to walk through a forest that silent ever again.” Gwaine said as he sheathed his sword, and the knights hummed in agreement.

“Well, let’s be glad that that gust of wind happened when it did,” Arthur said, and Merlin almost wanted to roll his eyes at the predictable obliviousness, “let’s take a short break, and continue hunting in a bit.”

Arthur wouldn’t have offered to take a break with anyone else, Merlin knew, but he was obviously way more comfortable with this new group of knights. In a short amount of time they had all grown close, like a small family, and had grown an indefinable sort of comradery between them.

They soon found themselves back with the horses, and were sitting around a small fire making small talk.

Lancelot and Merlin were a little further away from the others, talking in hushed tones. The other knights thankfully knew that Lancelot and Merlin were good friends for years, and that they seemingly enjoyed having private conversations, so they didn’t pester them to join the others.

“What was that about earlier?” Lancelot asked Merlin. He was lounging on the ground beside Merlin, who was sitting with his back up against a tree.

“I already said, the mist was mag—“

“No, not about the mist,” Lancelot interrupted Merlin, “I’m talking about before you cleared away the fog. Why did you ask me first? You know how I feel about your magic Merlin.”

Oh, that’s what he wanted to talk about? Merlin wanted to smile at that; Lancelot was always looking out for him, it seemed. Merlin didn’t even think he had noticed his hesitation earlier, or pondered over it.

“I know, I’ve used magic around you tons before, remember?” He jabbed Lance in the shoulder with his elbow, “but, I don’t know, it still feels weird. Not just doing magic in front of you, just in front of anyone.”

Merlin glanced at the knight. He was looking thoughtfully at the ground, his hands resting on his stomach and his hands fidgeting with each other. Lancelot turned to look at him and made sure he had Merlin’s gaze before speaking.

“I have faith in you, and in Arthur, and in Camelot. One day you won’t have to feel like that at all, and everyone will see you for who you really are.”

Merlin felt his heart clench a little at the sincerity of Lancelot’s words. Lancelot was just so caring. He cared about Merlin so much, and Merlin didn’t even know what he had done to deserve such a caring and honest and loyal friend. Lancelot was truly a noble knight, through and through, and Merlin found himself thinking, for probably the billionth time, that he was so lucky to have a friend like Lancelot.

His own thoughts were causing him to tear up a little, and he tried to laugh it off.

“I’m still the same clumsy, idiot servant. Just with magic.” He joked, and Lancelot shook his head, keeping the conversation serious.

“They’ll see you for your bravery, and your loyalty, and strength, and kindness, and recognize your worth.”

Merlin’s smiled fell off his face, and he looked down at the ground. Lancelot sat up and scooted up beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Merlin looked up at him, and Lancelot was smiling at him. A few tears spilled out as Merlin found himself smiling back.


	3. Percival

They got back to Camelot with a good amount of game and no more surprise attacks from bandits or sorcerers or anything of the kind.

The weeks following the hunting trip were uneventful, and they were also growing colder as winter approached. Arthur’s birthday was coming up, and Merlin was trying to figure out what to get him, growing more frustrated the longer it took him to think of something.

Arthur informed him that he and the knights would be heading out tomorrow to investigate a disturbance in one of the outer villages. He gave him the rest of the day off and told him to get well rested for they would be leaving early the next day, much to Merlin’s surprise. Arthur must have been in a good mood to give Merlin the rest of the day off.

Regardless, Merlin found himself with lots of free time on his hands and he knew that if he went back home Gaius would only give him more chores to do, so he head down to the lower town market instead. 

The markets were still busy, since it was cold, but not cold enough for some of the vendors to stop setting up shop for the winter. The first snow hadn’t even fallen yet, but Merlin was expecting it soon. 

There were still men trying to sell fashionable cloths to the woman who walked by, enticing them by saying certain colours matched their skin and made them fairer. Merlin had been watching amusedly as a man tried to sell fine looking cloth to a woman who didn’t even look like she could afford bread, so he didn’t noticed the large man that he suddenly bumped into, startling him and almost knocking him back.

A large hand came out to steady him and he looked up to see none other than Percival standing there, looking down at him.

“Sorry,” the knight said, letting his hand drop from Merlin’s arm now that he had steadied himself. “What are you doing here? Does Arthur not usually drag you around by a string?”

Merlin laughed, “No. Well yes, but not today. He gave me the rest of the day off.”

Merlin rubbed his hands together as he talked; his fingers and ears were pink from the cold and he couldn’t help his shoulders from hunching in a little. Percival seemed to notice and commented on it. He was always observant.

“Why don’t you go back to your home? I’m sure it’s much warmer there,” Percival suggested, looking warm in his thick sleeves, heavy chainmail and warm cape, blocking the wind.

“No, if I do Gaius will just make me do a bunch of chores for him. I thought I’d risk staying out here a little bit longer, at least.” Merlin shrugged with a smile, and Percival smiled back, an amused expression on his face as he no doubt thought about what sort of chores the old man made Merlin do.

“You have nothing warmer to wear?”

“Not really, I’m fine though.” Merlin insisted, but Percival’s brows pulled together as he looked sad and thoughtful.

“We’ll be heading out tomorrow though, and be gone for at least two days.” Percival stated, and Merlin blinked up at him. Was he genuinely worried about Merlin? His face resembled that of a kicked puppy and Merlin wanted to try his best to reassure him so that his face would go back to normal.

“I’m alright, I’ve survived many winters before this, I’m sure I can survive another.” Merlin joked, hiding his hands in his sides underneath his arms for warmth.

“I used to be just a peasant, but even I had something warmer to wear,” Percival said, looking around as if he suddenly realized where they were, “let’s get you something you can at least put over…”

Percival trailed off as he walked up to a vendor and asked him a few questions. Merlin couldn’t hear what he was saying, for he was hanging back a little nervously, but he saw the man at the shop nod and reach down to pull out a folded cloth. 

Percival beckoned Merlin over and he went, watching as the vendor unfolded the cloth and it fell out to show him that it was actually a thick cloak. It wasn’t too thick or lined with warm fur like the nobles had, but it wasn’t too thin that it would blow away in the smallest gust of wind either.

When Merlin reached Percival’s side, he draped the dark blue cloak over Merlin’s shoulders and secured it at the front. Merlin instantly felt a lot warmer, and he grabbed the edges of the cloak to pull tighter around himself.

“That’ll do, thanks,” The knight handed the vendor some coins before turning to look at Merlin with a warm smile.

“You didn’t have to,” Merlin protested weakly.

“You need it. Don’t worry, I have so much coin I don’t know what to do with it. I’ve never had this much before in my life,” Percival said as he started walking, and Merlin quickly caught up and fell into step beside him.

“What did you do before you and Lancelot arrived to help us take the Kingdom back?” Merlin asked a little tentively, because he actually didn’t know much about Percival’s background. He only knew that he was brave, and kind, and incredibly strong and had a good heart. Lancelot never mentioned how he knew him or where he came from, and Merlin couldn’t deny that he was a little curious.

Percival seemed to grow more serious at the statement though, and Merlin regretted asking it even as the knight spoke anyways.

“I used to live in a village in Essetir. It was small, but everyone was nice, and I did what I could to help out around the village. Most people just needed my strength, but I was fine with that,” Percival started, a small smile forming on his lips from the memory, Merlin guessed.

“I would take care of the village kids, and help cut down trees for lumber, and…” He trailed off, and Merlin got the feeling that something bad had happened. Their feet had slowed to a stop, and he found that they had walked up to the courtyard. Percival was looking down at the ground, and Merlin waited patiently for him to speak again.

“Cenred burned down my village,” Percival said at last, and Merlin’s heart sank, “All the villagers, the children…”

Merlin raised a hand to place it comfortingly on Percival’s arm, who smiled sadly at him.

“Anyways, I traveled after that, learned how to use a sword, and met Lancelot on my travels. Then he received a letter from you, and we came to Camelot.”

He held his arms out a little to show that he was done with his story, but Merlin was looking at him sadly. Percival was always so strong and brave and happy. Sometimes, Merlin would find that he would look confused or sad, but it was rare in comparison to all the times he spent laughing with Elyan or playing pranks on the kitchen staff with Gwaine. Percival was strong both physically and emotionally, and he found himself admiring the knight even more.

“Thank you for telling me that. I’m sorry if it brought up any bad memories,” Merlin said sincerely.

“I enjoyed telling it. You remind me of one of the village boys I used to know, and he enjoyed listening to the stories I told him.” Percival admitted.

“I enjoyed it as well. I’m from Essetia myself.”

“Really? Where?”

“Ealdor, don’t suppose you’ve heard of it?”

Merlin and Percival continued their walk, chatting about anything they could think of, and Merlin learned a lot more about the large knight than he ever thought he would. It was nice, and Merlin found himself relaxing a lot more around him as they shared stories of their childhoods. Throughout the whole walk the warlock was comfortably warm in his new cloak and in the company of a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made Percival's background from what I remember Lancelot telling Merlin in the 401 deleted scenes. Not sure how accurate it is. (':


	4. Elyan

The cloak helped greatly when Merlin had to go with the knights on their trip the next day, or whenever Arthur dragged him around anywhere really, but one thing it didn’t help with was finding a birthday present for Arthur.

Everything he could think of either wasn’t good enough, or wasn’t something he could afford, or just… wasn’t. He wanted Arthur’s birthday present to be something useful, but also something from the heart, for Arthur was very dear to Merlin whether he would admit it or not.

“What about a shirt with custom embroidery?” Gwen had suggested one day, “All the visiting princes always have such nice clothes, but Arthur never indulges in them.”

Merlin thought that was a brilliant idea, but after thinking it over, Merlin found that that was something that Gwen should do for him, since Merlin would have had to ask her for help with it anyways. He had told her so, and Gwen seemed reluctant to take the idea for herself, but after Merlin’s insistence, she nodded and thanked him.

It was only later, as he was putting Arthur’s freshly polished armour back into the armoury, that Merlin thought of the perfect gift. Though Excalibur may be stuck in a rock in a place that only he knew, and though Arthur may not be ready to use such a powerful sword at the moment, Merlin didn’t have any reason not to make another sword for him. It would be well balanced, and unique, and maybe he could do something special with it.

With this thought in his mind, he set off down the castle corridors to find Elyan. Though he may be a knight now, he had run the blacksmith for a while with Gwen after they had rescued him from the Castle of Fyrien. He remembered hearing Gwen talk about how he was quite good at it, and was able to make fine blades.

Merlin turned a corner and smiled brightly when he saw Elyan marching down the hall, his cape swaying behind him.

“Elyan!” Merlin called out happily as he hurried over towards the knight, who stopped in front of him and greeted him with a warm smile.

“Hello Merlin. What can I do for you?”

Elyan was always so formal. Of all the knights, other than Leon, he was probably the most professional. He was kind and confident, which is probably why whenever the knights had a problem that needed to be taken to Arthur, Merlin always noticed that Elyan was the one who talked for the group.

“I was hoping to catch you when you weren’t busy. I have a blacksmithing favour to ask of you. I know, since you’re a knight now and all you probably don’t—“

“No, no,” Elyan held up a hand to interrupt Merlin before he kept babbling, “it’s alright. I’d be happy to help you. I’m off now actually, I was just heading to change into something more comfortable. Come on.”

“Great! Thanks.” Merlin said gratefully as he started trotting along at Elyan’s side. They got to the house he shared with Gwen, having refused the invitation to move somewhere nicer, and Merlin waited as Elyan changed into clothes he noticed with pride that he recognized from a long time ago, when they had first met Elyan. Probably not the exact same clothes, but it was the same ensemble, with a hood over a vest over a shirt.

“So what did you need?” Elyan asked as he sat down at the table in the middle of the room, inviting Merlin to do the same.

“Well, you know how Arthur’s birthday is coming up, and I never really got him anything before,” Merlin started, to which Elyan nodded to indicate he was listening. Merlin internally smiled at that, liking the way Elyan always seemed to interested in what you were saying and always gave you time to explain yourself. He was a good listener.

“So I was thinking about making him a sword. A custom sword, but something well made and something that suits him. I was hoping you could help me, I wouldn’t know where to start.”

Elyan smiled. “That’s a good idea, I’m sure Arthur will like it. I could help you with the more complicated things if you’d like, and I’ll guide you through the customization so you can do it mostly yourself.”

“Yeah… that’d be great. Thanks. Thanks so much,” Merlin said, falling over his own words in excitement that this was going to happen. Elyan got up and gestured Merlin to follow him, and he led him out of the house and to the smith.

-

Merlin was loading up the forge with hot coals (much to Elyans dismay, who insisted on doing it himself), when he started up the conversation again.

“How long have you,” he paused to scoop more coals in, “done blacksmithing? I heard from Gwen that you traveled around for a while.”

“I lived in Camelot for a long time. I grew up here, and my father showed me, and Gwen sometimes, how the forge worked. My father said I had a natural talent.” Merlin could see Elyan’s face light up at the memory. “I used to always get into trouble, though, and one time I got into a fight with my father and I left the city.”

Elyan’s voice was very smooth, Merlin noticed, and full of emotion when he talked about certain things. HE didn’t get to hear Elyan talk much, because of the knights he was probably one of the quietest, usually only speaking up to make a snarky remark, relay information or reprimand the other knights for goofing off (along with Leon).

“I can’t imagine you getting into trouble. You always seem so responsible.” 

Elyan laughed and got up to stop Merlin from putting anymore coals in, and went somewhere quickly to come back with some steel ingots in his arms. He put them in a large basin before carefully putting it into the forge to heat up.

“That’ll take a while,” Elyan commented, before sitting back down. 

“Gwen told me the last time she saw you before we met was two years before I came to Camelot.”

“Yeah, when I came back the first time, I made up with my father and I stayed for a while, but you can’t deny the freedom you feel when you’re out traveling. So I left again. I floated around until I was, you know, taken.” Elyan seemed a little embarrassed at the fact, and Merlin felt the need to reassure him.

“It’s in the past now, and plus, if you hadn’t been taken, you probably wouldn’t have been reunited with Gwen, and we would’ve never met, and you wouldn’t have been knighted.” Merlin said, smiling comfortingly.

“I suppose. I never would’ve thought I’d be a knight.”

“I never would’ve thought I’d be manservant to the prince.”

“And friend to the prince.”

“You’re his friend too,” Merlin pointed out, and they both laughed.

They got back to work. Elyan had informed him that there was only so much they could do in a day, especially between their jobs as a knight and a servant. It would take a while if they wanted to make a good quality sword, Elyan had explained, and Merlin had suggested they meet whenever they could.

They got together for at least two hours almost everyday, sometimes longer when they both had time off. They talked a lot, more than Merlin had every talked to Elyan In his life, and he remembered just how much he liked his company. He wasn’t much into roughhousing like Gwaine, Arthur and Percival were. He was calm, perceptive, and gentle (like Gwen, he noticed in amusement) and he really enjoyed the time he spent with him.

This went on for about a month, most of that time spent hammering the sword day in and day out. Merlin had groaned and questioned why, Elyan only responding calmly that a sword of the highest quality has to be balanced, and to do so it had to be bent into perfect shape.

Elyan did a lot of the complicated stuff like he promised, and let Merlin do the final custom details. The latter was afraid he would screw it up greatly, but Elyan was supportive and confident in his abilities, and his words has Merlin feeling a lot better about himself by the end.

When they were finally done, Merlin acknowledged that what he had in his hands truly was a masterpiece. It was perfectly balanced, the blade long and sharp. The grip was incrusted with steel as well, weaving around it from the cross-guard to the pommel, creating subtle groves that made it easier to grip and keep ahold of. The cross-guard itself was in the subtle outline of a dragon, its gold wings fanning outwards and framing the blade. It wasn’t the best he’s ever scene, but he would admit that it was definitely better than the standard Camelot-issued swords that the knights had, and that even Arthur frequented. He would surely see the beauty in the sword just as Merlin did, and suddenly the servant was overwhelmed with a feeling of pride, and of gratefulness.

“It’s beautiful, Elyan. Thank you so much,” He said sincerely, sheathing it in the scabbard that Elyan had fixed up for it. He held it up in front of him, turning it around to look at it a few more times before setting it down.

“You did a lot of the work,” Elyan commented as he walked over to stand in front of the servant, “you did very well. Really well, actually. You’re a fast learner. I don’t know what Arthur complains about half the time.”

“Maybe you’re just a good mentor,” Merlin replied with a grin and Elyan lightly punched him in the arm. Merlin held out his hand to the knight, and they gripped each others forearms tightly.

“Thanks you, though, really. Arthur will love it.”

“Anytime Merlin.” They let go of each other a moment later, saying goodbye as it was late, and heading their separate ways. Merlin head back to his room, the sword in his hand and a smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On blacksmithing, I looked up how long it took to make a sword, and I read that to make a high quality sword it took at least a month, because the blacksmith spends a lot of time just shaping the sword. Low quality ones obviously take a considerably less amount of time, but I wanted to make this realistic, and I never mentioned how soon Arthur's birthday was coming up last chapter, so I hope this fits.
> 
> This chapter turned out longer than I expected. If it's not obvious I kind of ship Elyan/Merlin (not as much as Percival/Elyan though!) Next up: Gwaine!


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